Genesis 41:40

41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. ¹  Only I, the king, will be greater than you. ² 

Genesis 41:51

41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ³  saying, ⁴  “Certainly ⁵  God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.”

Genesis 44:34

44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see ⁶  my father’s pain.” ⁷ 

[41:40]  ¹ tn Heb “and at your mouth (i.e., instructions) all my people will kiss.” G. J. Wenham translates this “shall kowtow to your instruction” (Genesis [WBC], 2:395). Although there is some textual support for reading “will be judged, ruled by you,” this is probably an attempt to capture the significance of this word. Wenham lists a number of references where individuals have tried to make connections with other words or expressions – such as a root meaning “order themselves” lying behind “kiss,” or an idiomatic idea of “kiss” meaning “seal the mouth,” and so “be silent and submit to.” See K. A. Kitchen, “The Term Nsq in Genesis 41:40,” ExpTim 69 (1957): 30; D. S. Sperling, “Genesis 41:40: A New Interpretation,” JANESCU 10 (1978): 113-19.

[41:40]  ² tn Heb “only the throne, I will be greater than you.”

[41:51]  ³ sn The name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh) describes God’s activity on behalf of Joseph, explaining in general the significance of his change of fortune. The name is a Piel participle, suggesting the meaning “he who brings about forgetfulness.” The Hebrew verb נַשַּׁנִי (nashani) may have been used instead of the normal נִשַּׁנִי (nishani) to provide a closer sound play with the name. The giving of this Hebrew name to his son shows that Joseph retained his heritage and faith; and it shows that a brighter future was in store for him.

[41:51]  ⁴ tn The word “saying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:51]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[44:34]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose – “I cannot go up lest I see.”

[44:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”